Manhattan

Manhattan Travel Guide

The department store’s Chelsea location closed down in 1996, but this airy, edgy outpost—set inside a warehouse satisfies the needs of high-fashion shoppers. Both men and women head here for everything from designer jeans to of-the-minute accessories.

New York’s best bagel: an impossible award given the excess of this mouth-watering bread product throughout the five boroughs. But Murray’s comes pretty close—and its collection of freshly made, handcrafted poppy-, sesame seed-, onion-, and garlic- bagels have wowed Villagers for over a decade.

Since the tiny shop’s designs started showing up in photos of starlets and rockers a decade ago, the neighborhood’s secret is out but still worth a visit. Here you’ll find great dresses that are feminine without being girly, and well-structured without being stiff.

Housing 50 NYC-themed lanes, Bowlmor is part bowling alley, part nightclub. Beyond knocking down pins over drinks, there’s also the Stadium Grill Sports Bar and Restaurant, run by celeb chef David Burke.

This home décor store is the kind of place you can get lost in for hours. Every inch of space (ceiling included) is overflowing with charming gift-worthy items, such as brightly colored Yves Delorme mohair throws, owl-shaped salt and pepper shakers, and Savon de Marseille soaps.

Forget the clothes: the real lure is the Rem Koolhaas-designed store itself. Manhattan’s Prada flagship replaced the downtown branch of the Guggenheim Museum in 2001—and since then, architecture freaks (and, yes, fashionistas) have been flocking to the futuristic 23,000-square-foot store.

If the diminutive storefront with its gilded signage, flowerpots, and tin ceiling recalls an earlier era, so does the spirit of this indie bookstore, which has inspired neighborhood loyalty since 1978.

This attractive (and nice-smelling) shop sells space-saving, stylish, and smart housewares. You don’t have to live in a closet-sized apartment to enjoy its great products. Open daily, around noon–around 7 pm.

Some buildings are born to be icons. With its unique triangular “iron” shape, Beaux-Arts styling and bragging rights as one of New York’s first skyscrapers, The Flatiron Building’s eternal fame was secured from the beginning.